No star turns, but Argerich inspires her partners in some fine chamber playing
It may be jolting to hear Brahms’s F minor Piano Quintet in its previous, and less familiar, guise for two pianos. But apart from the introduction to the finale, where their characteristics do not accord with the sustained quality that would otherwise have been created by strings, the absence of the latter is no impediment to concentrated listening. And apart from some lack of concentration from Argerich and Zilberstein, who don’t quite hold this movement together, here is a very arresting performance. Definition is the watchword of these artists who listen to each other and weight their notes so as to avoid overbearing lumpiness. Yet the breadth and scale of the music is conveyed. So is the lyricism of the slow movement, not calmly ordered as expected because Argerich creates a degree of restlessness by introducing small deviations to the rhythm of the main theme.
She is very much the leader, though never a despot. Once a virtuoso soloist whose brilliance could spill into brashness, Argerich is now a remarkably considerate chamber musician. Virtuosity remains, but it is sublimated to the needs of the genre; and the performance of the Beethoven trio illustrates how she combines impetuous dexterity with an intelligence that sweeps music and musicians along with her. The young composer in rumbustious and rustic mood, throwing in the dulcet lyric and dark shadows as well, is supremely evoked. Yes, there is the odd rough moment and the odd sundry noise; but in a public performance (generally well balanced and recorded, as are all the others), caution tends to fly out of the window – as it should.
Often as not, such occasions are inspirations in themselves; here, the performance of the Mendelssohn trio succumbs to what was probably a heady atmosphere. Neither the young Wanderer Trio nor so august a group as Stern, Rose and Istomin, quite equal the acuity shown by Argerich and the Capuçon brothers. The outer movements, their tempo markings also stipulating agitato and appassionato respectively, evoke a controlled fire that burns without an impression of stiff-muscled effort. Argerich’s pianism is relaxed, yet her phrase-to-phrase continuity creates a disciplined tension. The virtually seamless flow that is used to mould the slow movement is fittingly adapted to send the Scherzo (marked leggiero e vivace) into orbit; and in both cases pianissimi are tactfully handled.